Diabetes Prevention

Diabetes diet is not as difficult to follow as it appears to be! It only stands for a careful selection of food items and identifying signs of low blood sugar.

A few tips can be useful:

1. Form a Right Substitution:

Nutrition professionals will provide you with the comprehensive lists of select food item that you should count on. They generally use the exchange process. One exchange stands for one serving. Food exchanges tell that you can substitute food items with those foods, which gives you the same quantity of calories, carbohydrates, fats, and proteins.

2. Glycemic Index (GI):

This is the unit to measure the effect of carbohydrates in the blood sugar level. Food items having GI in the form of oats, wheat, whole grains has small impact in the increase of blood sugar levels rather than commercial white and whole breads, cereals and so forth.

Now, we have to be extra careful and keep a check on diabetes mellitus to lead a healthy life.

Diabetes Causes

Diabetes is an ailment that affects the body’s natural capability to convert carbohydrates and sugars into energy. There is no known reason of getting diabetes. Nevertheless, there are some factors that put a person at higher risk of getting diabetes.
These risk factors may include:

A family background of diabetes

Poor diet habits

Obesity

Lack physical activity

Different Causes of Diabetes

The main diabetes causes of type-1 diabetes are:

Infections with certain bacteria or viruses

Food-related chemical toxins

An unidentified element in cow milk can stimulate an autoimmune reaction in the metabolism. Young infants fed with cow milk are at a higher risk of contracting type-1 diabetes.

The main causes of diabetes type-2 are:

Growing age

Obesity

Minimum physical activity

Wrong diet habits

The main causesof gestational diabetes include:

Specific hormones generated during pregnancy ceasing the activity of insulin

Mother body is unable to generate sufficient insulin

Common Causes of Diabetes

There are some general diabetes causes i.e. the risk of diabetes is higher in case of any such history of diabetes in the family. Environmental factors also lead to the onset of diabetes like poor diet, no exercise, over weight, and stress.

Diabetes Diet

Suffering from diabetes should not compel you to follow an extreme diet plan. Most of the time, the true secret lies with opting the types of foods that a diabetic eats and healthy eating, which means fat control and planned mealtimes.

Sweets Consumption

Getting diabetes does not mean you should deprive yourself from sweets. Although it is better to avoid sweets, but most experts believes that the occasional sweet consumption does not harm. The sweet consumption should be limited and that should not upset the overall carbohydrate count of the day’s meals.

Vegetarian Diet

Adding vegetables to a diabetic's diet is necessary, especially a few vegetables a day yield more benefits than not eating any at all. But strictly becoming vegetarian is an absolute myth.

Generally, a vegetarian meal should be high in fiber and low fat in fat and calories. Consultation with a doctor, dietician, or a nutrition professional can be an imperative initial step in maintaining the diet plan that will offer you the most benefits, be it vegetarian or not.

Type 2 Diabetes Prevention

The diabetes prevention plan starts with your calorie intake plan.

You may be advised it's necessary to check carbohydrates in your diet plan, but this is not the right information.

What you should do is:

Avoid Trans Fat: The kind of fat you intake plays a vital role in your risk of type 2 diabetes. Insulin needs to interact with receptors on your cell membranes to direct glucose into your cells. Your cell membranes are mostly made of fatty acids. Presence of fatty acids in your cell membranes will curb the proper functioning of insulin resulting in insulin resistance. Trans fat is available in margarine, vegetable oils, and foods i.e. cakes, biscuits donuts, processed and fast food.

Increase Fiber: Increase fiber to 25-30 grams daily. One of the most significant food groups to count on is - high-fiber foods. Fiber cut down the intake of glucose in your intestinal tract. Therefore, fiber is considered as a meal that simmer down the glycemic index of a food by playing down the rise in blood sugar level that arises after consuming carbohydrates. Fiber is present in fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds, grains and legumes.

Cut Down Carbohydrate Intake: Favor foods having low glycemic index. Food with a high GI drains sugar into your bloodstream faster. As white bread containing high GI and will show a pronounced effect on your blood sugar level. On the other hand rye bread carries a low GI and permeates into your bloodstream patiently. Mostly all fruits are having low GI, and also the green leafy vegetables, beans, peas and lentils, yams and sweet potatoes, oatmeal and bran cereals.

Accentuate Chromium and Magnesium Intake: People having type 2 diabetes are more prone to be deficient of nutrients which can stop their insulin from functioning properly.

Gestational Diabetes Prevention

There are a variety of dietary actions that you can take to either treat or prevent the pregnancy complexities:

Do Not Skip Meals: Skipping meal will lower your blood sugar levels, which will result in affecting your insulin levels.

Eat Small, Frequent Meals All Day: Take five to six meals all through the day giving space for 2-3 hours of gape in between. It will stabilize your blood sugar levels, and keep your metabolism at check.

Eat high fiber food. It will reduce the absorption of sugar into your bloodstream and allow stability in blood sugar levels.

Take limited sweets.

Exercise Regularly. Exercising regularly at a moderate intensity will decreases blood sugar levels. It burns calories and disallow excessive weight gain, which can directly affect the occurrence of gestational diabetes.

It is better to prevent than cure gestational diabetes. If possible, try to follow these tips starting at pre-conception, and stick to it all through your pregnancy.

Type 1 Diabetes Prevention

At present there is no way to prevent type 1 diabetes, but continuous studies are finding ways to prevent diabetes in those people who are prone to it.

People with type 1 diabetes can delay or prevent the progress of complications such as heart, eye, kidney, blood vessel diseases by monitoring their blood sugar level to normal. They should also go for regular medical check ups to identify early signs of complications. If complications are treated on time, the damage may be slowed, or possibly reversed.

Preventing Flu and Pneumococcal Disease

People having diabetes should have flu shot each year and get a pneumococcal vaccine also. Generally, people require single dose of the pneumococcal vaccine. But doctors sometimes suggest one additional dose for some people, especially in case of patient having long-term disease. Consult your doctor about the same. The pneumococcal vaccine prevents infections caused by pneumococcal bacteria. Individuals having diabetes, specifically having heart or kidney disease, are prone to complications, hospitalization, and even death from flu and pneumococcal disease.

Diabetes Symptoms

Generally for most of the people symptoms of diabetes do not appear to be very serious when they first witness them. In fact a vast majority of diabetics go untreated.

Many people may express disbelief when they are detected with diabetes. Because the symptoms can seem minor when they first surface they can be add to other conditions or problems. But unfortunately diabetes is a fatal disease and is the sixth major reason of death by ailment in the United States today.

The most common symptoms may include:

Frequent Urination

As a result of high blood glucose level it accentuates blood flow to the kidneys.

Excessive Thirst

Results from dehydration by the excessive urinary output.

Excessive Hunger

Because glucose is not able to enter the body's cells as a result of lack of insulin the body starve for food, causing hunger.

Unusual Weight Loss

Inspite of eating more the body typically lose weight as it breaks down fats and proteins to cover up the perceived energy deficit.

Increased Fatigue

Decrease in energy levels causes increased tiredness.

Blurry Vision

Increased blood volume that swells the lens of the eye results in blurry vision.

There are different conditions that could give rise to some of these symptoms. For instance the stress of daily life can lead to fatigue or tiredness and also depression which can also cause reduces weight. Any minor illnesses like colds or the flu can also resemble diabetes like symptoms.
The sooner diabetes is detected the better it is to start taking preventative measures. This is necessary as the longer it is left unattended the more harm it can do to the body and its organ systems. Nevertheless, there is no cure for diabetes it can be managed with positive lifestyle change and meal planning.